Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani on July 23 ordered all government institutions in an official letter to refer to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as an “outlawed” party in official correspondence.

Turkiye and the PKK have been in a decades-long armed conflict since the 1970s that has killed tens of thousands and left many more injured or displaced. 

Turkiye has recently stepped up ground operations against the PKK in the Duhok Governorate, in which many civilians were displaced and farmlands were damaged.

Read More: US Calls on Turkiye to Coordinate with KRG and Iraq

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on July 8 that the United States has urged Turkiye to coordinate with Iraqi and Kurdistan Region authorities on cross-border military operations in order to protect civilians from harm.

“We also recognize the ongoing threat posed by the PKK. That said, we call on the Turkish government to coordinate military operations with the government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and other local authorities,” he said

Last March, following a high-level security meeting with a Turkish delegation in Baghdad, the Iraqi National Security Council banned the PKK, a move that was welcomed by the Turkish government. 

Turkiye in March also proposed setting up a joint operation center with Baghdad to fight the PKK.

In a joint press conference on July 1, the KRG Ministry of Interior and the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said that three people with links to the PKK were arrested for their involvement in a series of incidents of arson in Iraq. 

On July 8, KRG Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed Khalid told reporters that “the Iraqi government has recently decided that the PKK is a banned organization.” 

“The PKK must leave those regions so that the civilians there do not face problems and suffer.”

However, on July 10, the Iraqi National Security Council rejected the legitimacy of Turkish operations on Iraqi soil and urged Turkiye to coordinate “with the Iraqi government for any security-related matters.”

Read More: Prime Minister Barzani Discusses Border Security with Iraqi Security Advisor

On July 11, a delegation led by Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji also visited Erbil to discuss border security.